by mikegUPRR
How diverse is a diesel electricians work? If I go through an apprenticeship on the railroad, would I have all the skills that other industrial employers look for in electricians? Or is it a very specialized occupation?
I did my apprenticeship with CN. I have no ticket, no official qualification whatsoever. I could only go and get another job with another railway. Diesel electric locomotives are pretty specialized. While the background could lend itself to other fields, there's not much other than the basics that are similar (a/c and d/c theory of operation, fans, generators/alternators, etc).
Since we work on old hunks of crap that are still running around (circa 1950's) right up to the latest greatest EMD and GE locomotives... there's a lot of variety. If you are self-motivated, you'll go far in the railway. Otherwise, you can be a lazy SOB like most of the unionized employees I have to put with most days, and earn a pretty decent wage while you f***-the-dog for 30 years.
Here's an example: http://members.shaw.ca/CN_sparky/jobdesc.pdf